Billed as a must win game that could dictate whether Ewell could maintain their title push, Ewell had the rare luxury of boasting a 14 man squad for this crunch encounter with a familiar foe. Ewell were out to make up for their below par performance in this fixture last month, and the nightmares of that game alone served as motivation to claim three points and close the gap at the top of the table.
If Ewell were to win this game they had to defend far better this time around, and they managed to start relatively comfortably. The number of free-kicks awarded in the entire game only just required two hands to keep count, and in keeping with the well-contested history of this fixture, tackles, fouls and elbows flew in all over the pitch, whilst the referee did little to prevent this with his imaginative take on the advantage law – in which being fouled and the ball falling to the opposition constituted an ‘advantage.’ However, Ewell did get the rub of the green on one of the few decisions to fall in their favour when a defender on the visiting team inexplicably handled the ball inside the area. This key opening was spurned though, as the resulting spot kick from Chipperton was tame and invited a relatively comfortable save from their keeper, whilst the rebound fell fortuitously for the defending team and was promptly cleared.
The game was particularly cagey and disjointed at this point, thanks in no small part to regular flair ups, stray balls finding their way onto the pitch, unruly spectators being escorted from the touchline and a potentially serious injury to Stevens, and so Ewell had not really done enough to merit being in the lead thus far. However, this soon changed when they eventually began to dictate proceedings and stretch the opposition, coming close on two occasions in particular. The first of which had goal of the season written all over it, as a mesmerising Clancy run from deep in his own half saw him jnyx in and out of three or four pairs of dangling legs before dispatching a curling effort that narrowly flashed past the top corner. The second opportunity came from a more familiar source, as a driven corner was met by a towering Kelly header at the back post which thundered off the bar and perhaps crossed the line, yet the goal was not awarded and so Ewell’s search for the opener went on. When it did come it was a case of double redemption; as Chipperton’s set-piece delivery atoned for his earlier blunder and thus reduced his impending fine; meanwhile Sear’s firm connection enabled him to open his account for the season and get revenge after losing some cash when the sides last met.
1-0 at half-time was a fair reflection of how the game had panned out, yet Ewell braced themselves for the inevitable second half war of attrition. Shutting Cheam out has always been problematic for their opposition, and like Ewell they have a useful habit of grinding out results, thus ensuring that Ewell would have to be at their miserly best to hold onto the points. Creative endeavours suffered as a result, as Ewell’s siege mentality centred around holding on to what they had, but they still posed a problem on the counter and conceivably ought to have added to their slender lead. The closing stages were not without their hairy moments: the crossbar came to the home side’s aid on one particularly close shave, whilst Cheam’s profligate finishing saw them squander the few opportunities they did manage to fashion. Ewell’s committed approach and refusal to surrender their share of the points was epitomised in the final minute, when a header off the line was gobbled up by Bunde, who was clattered in the process, much to the relief of the home side.
Whilst by no means their most accomplished performance, it was reminiscent of their successful campaign last time out as they dug deep and secured the result nevertheless. With three league clean sheets on the bounce and 9 points added to the tally, Ewell have responded in the right manner since losing to Cheam and look set to keep their season on the right track.